Tides of Sand
by LLockedOut
Summary: Vivi-Anne is a renowned archaeologist. After being asked to accompany a brother and sister on their hunt for Hamunaptra she is thrown back together with a childhood friend, a mummy with a taste for flesh, and a mysterious desert warrior with the most hypnotizing eyes she's ever seen. ABXOC. HIATUS
1. The Beginning

**A/N: I only own Vivi-Anne.**

**Hello all!**

**So this idea popped into my head the other day and I had to start it. For those of you reading my Loki story, never fear, I'm not stopping or anything.**

**I'm going to attempt to write both at the same time and hopefully that works out haha.**

**Don't mind the shortness of this chapter, it's just a little intro.**

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Vivi-Anne Daher was irritated.

She was sitting in a hot and stuff tavern in Cairo, waiting on some moron who probably believed he found the Pharaohs hairbrush. She was tired from the dig she had just gotten back from and wanted nothing more than to take a nice bath and sleep till noon.

Vivi was part of the world's leading archeology team. They travelled all over and were sought out by every stupid treasure hunter in the East. At the age of 25 Vivi had made more amazing discovers than most archeologist did in their whole lives. It was because of this that she was the second best archeologist on her team, and world, right under the Doctor himself. That's what had got her into this mess. The team lead, Dr. Stapin was growing older. He was still in good shape for a man of 65 but he wasn't able to go on the longer digs anymore. This meant Vivi had to step up to the plate and take over part of his roles. Including meeting with all the greedy men of the world that wanted to find some lost treasure.

Most of the time they were wild goose chases and Vivi would sent a lower ranked team, if any at all. However sometimes they were promising, and this time she prayed it was because she was in no mood to deal with idiots.

So there she sat, her legs propped up on the table in front of her, waiting for a man named 'Jonathan' to meet her.

She brushed a piece of dark hair that had fallen from her messy bun behind her ear. She crossed her arms over her chest and let her dark eyes survey the room. It was late, close to midnight. That meant the tavern was in full swing. She kept to herself in a dark corner; she was in no mood to deal with horny drunk men tonight. Vivi's eyes landed on a thin man in a white suit. _That's gotta be him_ she thought to herself.

When the man's wandering eyes met hers, she raised a thin eye brow at him. He smiled and made his way over.

"Ms. Daher?" he asked in a chipper voice. She nodded. "Splendid! The name's Jonathan."

He held out his hand and she shook it wordlessly.

"Shall we get straight to business then?"

"Please." She just wanted to go home, she could hear her bath calling to her.

Jonathan looked around the room, seeing if anyone was watching the two, then he pulled out a small metal box. Vivi felt her interest peak. Jonathan noticed. He smiled. He took a deep breath and held it out for her. He clearly had trouble parting with his 'treasures'. Vivi took it gently and let her eyes roam over it. She was in awe. Her lips parted but she couldn't form the right words. She knew these marking, and there was only one place that the box could have come from.

She turned it around in her hand a couple of times. She let her fingers brush over all the markings, mentally memorizing the grooves and dips. Vivi lifted her eyes to meet Jonathans. His were glowing with excitement. He knew that she was amazed and intrigued by this artifact.

"That's not even the best part" he said in a low but excited tone. "This is. We found it inside."

He held out a sheet of paper. She looked at it quizzically then examined what was on it. Vivi's eyes widened. _No… it can't be. What are the chances? _

"Where did you get this?" she asked, not taking her eyes off the paper.

"I told you-"

"No, the box itself."

"I uhm…ah I found it" Jonathan smiled uneasily at her.

She knew that was a load of bullshit, but if he had actually been to the City he would have bragged about it. Her eyes continued to trail over the map, but paused when she got to a burned section.

"Was it like this?" she asked.

"Uhm… no. It ah… had a bit of a mishap."

She rolled her eyes. "You know what this is right?"

He nodded.

"My sister works at the museum here; she deciphered it and all that."

While she was convinced Jonathan wasn't savvy in all things Ancient Egyptian, it looked like his sister was the brains behind this. _No doubt he only wants the treasure_ she mused. _His sister however… She must just want the knowledge._ How could she deprive someone of something like that? She herself couldn't pass up an opportunity to go to the City.

Vivi knew where this was heading, and for once she was happy that the Doctor wouldn't be able to go on this dig. This could be the biggest moment of her career. She had to be sure though.

"And what do you want me for?"

Jonathans eyes widened in excitement. _Yup. He's only in it for the treasure. _Vivi rolled her eyes in her head.

"We're going to find it. We're going to Hamunaptra, and we need an archeologist like you. My sister Evy is good, but she has no experience out in the world. I don't want to risk…"

"Dying?" she cut him off. "Or not finding the treasure?"

He smiled at her, "both!"

Vivi couldn't stop the small smile that pulled at her lips.

"I'm in."

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**TAHDAH!**

**So it all begins :)**

**What do you guys think? Yay or Nay?**

**Review and let me know :D**


	2. Reunited

**A/N: I only own Vivi :)**

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"I hate people"

Vivi pushed her way through the busy paths of the Giza Port. She hated crowd, because of their noise and stuffiness. Give her a quiet tomb any day.

She adjusted the large brown leather bag on her shoulder as she looked around for Jonathan and his sister. They had apparently gotten a guide of some sort, though Vivi had no idea who would know the way to Hamunaptra without the map. Vive paused at the side of the dock and lifted her head to the sky. She closed her eyes and took in the sun's rays. She loved the sun and the heat.

Someone rushed by her and kicked dirt up onto her beige boots and pants. She looked down and brushed them off. That's another reason she hated people, they were rude. She looked at the rest of her outfit to make sure the dirt hadn't gotten anywhere else. Her white blouse was spotless thankfully as she had tied it just above her belly button, showing a bit of her stomach. The dark brown jacket she was wearing hit her just above her hips, so it was dirt free too.

After brushing her pants off one more time, Vivi set off to find the Carnahans.

She continued to push through the crowd, standing on her tip toes to try and see them. A familiar voice to her right caught her attention.

"-all we found, was sand and blood."

_It couldn't be…_

Vivi turned and caught a pair of bright blue eyes.

"Vivi?"

_It is him!_

"Rick!" she shouted as she launched into the man's open arms.

He wrapped her in a tight hug and spun her around. She couldn't believe her luck. What were the chances of seeing her childhood friend? Someone cleared their throat beside them. Vivi turned and was shocked to see Jonathan, standing next to who she assumed to be Evy.

"Jonathan? I've been looking for you guys everywhere. This is-"

"You know them?" Rick cut in.

"_You_ know them?" she asked back.

"Well now, it looks like we all know each other. Great! Vivi-Anne, this is my sister Evy." Jonathan said. "And I assume you already know our guide, O'Connell."

Vivi almost burst out laughing. "You're our guide?"

"Why is that so surprising?" he smiled at her. "What exactly are you doing with these two?"

"Jonathan asked me to come along as an archeologist. Wait… so you've been to Hamunaptra?" Vivi was confused. There was no way Rick could have actually been there.

"I'll tell you once we get settled" he turned to the siblings. "Let me get your bags."

Rick picked up the luggage and walked onto the boat. Vivi turned to the siblings, and then realized she hadn't introduced herself to Evy.

"Oh my god, pardon my manners. I'm Vivi-Anne, Vivi for short. It's a pleasure to meet you Evy. Jonathan told be you me you were the one the deciphered the box? Very impressive!"

She flashed her a warm smile. Evy gave a shy one back.

"I've heard a lot about you around the museum. You're a brilliant archeologist."

Vivi laughed, "I've been told I have a natural gift for it. We'll I'm going to go put my stuff down. Thanks again for having me with you guys."

She gave a wave and followed Rick's path.

Vivi spent the whole afternoon with Rick. Rick explained how he'd been to Hamunaptra and how he ended up with the Carnahans.

They stood on the deck of the ship, both leaning on the damp railing. Rick was leaning forward on his elbows while Vivi had her back to the water.

"I can't believe you were almost hung right around the corner from me! How do you always manage to end up in these situations O'Connell" she said, tilting her head back.

Rick chuckled.

"So what about you, other than all those impressive finds of yours." He nudged her lightly.

"Well a couple years after you left, Mum died" she noticed his expression change and waved him off. "Nothing serious, old age I suppose. I had no one left here once she passed so I took some time off and went to England. I hoped to stay with Sam and Dad for a bit, but apparently dear old dad had passed a few years prior."

"You know you never really told me what happened between your parents."

Vivi smiled sadly, "there isn't much to tell really. They didn't approve of Mum. They all loved Dad's first wife, Sam's mum, better and were furious when he left her for my Mum. When they had me, my Dad's family cut off all contact with them. The fact that he didn't have his family's support put a strain on Dad. It would come up in every fight my parents had. Once Mum and Dad divorced they welcomed him and Sam back with open arms. Despite their differences, my Dad still wrote to me every month. He even came to visit once or twice when I was a young teen."

"You always told me you didn't get along with your father?" he asked.

"I didn't get along with his family. They even went as far as to forbidden Sam from writing to me to invite me to the funeral; they wouldn't even let him tell me Dad had passed."

Even though Samuel was only her half-brother, and her mum was the reason his parents split, he treated Vivi like a true sister. His family just couldn't seem to get over themselves. Before they moved back to England Vivi and Sam were inseparable, he didn't care that she was 4 years younger. They had written each other every week after he left Cairo.

Rick nodded for her to continue.

"Anyways, luckily Sam had his own place so I could stay with him. I stayed for a month, and we caught up on all the time we missed. I returned to Cairo when he was supposed to be deployed again, and was set to come back once he did too."

Vivi's face darkened.

"Sam never made it back. I had gotten there a day early so I could meet him when he walked off the ship... but he never did."

Vivi held out her left wrist to Rick. On the inside was a tattoo of an anchor.

"When we were little he would always tell me that there was no ocean big enough to keep us apart. That month I stay with him he told me I was the anchor that kept him sane, from all the stuff he'd seen in battle. It seemed appropriate."

Rick placed a hand on the tattoo and looked Vivi in the eyes, "I'm sorry Viv."

She nodded and gave him a small smile. She looked back out across the deck.

Speaking of sanity" he said, "how's that psycho boyfriend of yours?"

Vivi stiffened.

She hadn't thought about Johnny since the 'incident'. Johnny was Vivi's (now ex) longtime boyfriend. They started dating when they were seventeen. In the beginning it was a fairytale. Johnny would buy her flowers, take her on spontaneous trips, and compliment her to no end. That all changed after her brother died. When she had originally gotten back she was depressed for weeks, and Johnny was the comforting presence she needed. She hadn't wanted to go out for a while, and Johnny would get frustrated. One night he went out without her and brought a girl home. Vivi was disgusted and angry, but she was afraid to lose another person in her life. So she forgave him. Things just got worst from there. They would get into arguments and Johnny would throw thing, once or twice hitting her. Then one night he slapped her. After getting over the shock Johnny apologized, saying he overreacted. While Vivi was hesitant, they agreed to forget the matter. However things got worst. Johnny would 'accidently' hit her more and more.

Rick caught him once and beat the hell out of him, and that seemed to stop things for a while. Vivi was terrified when Rick left for Paris, thinking Johnny would start acting up again. As much has Vivi wanted to leave him, she had no one to turn to. She had already lost her parents, her brother, and her closest friend.

"After you left, I was scared things would go back to normal" she began. "Luckily Johnny seemed to have changed and for two years things were like how they were in the beginning. I eventually got promoted and moved up to the head team. I was gone on digs a lot, or off meeting potential clients with the Doctor so I didn't have that much time for Johnny. I got back one night and found him with a girl from his work. Apparently they had been sleeping together for weeks."

Rick's face twisted in disgust, but she held up her hand to silence him.

"It gets better. So I walked in on them literally going at it in my kitchen. He tried to deny it, which just made things worse. So a huge argument broke out. Johnny then decided to grab the nearest knife and..."

She held up her shirt, exposing her right ribcage. There was a large scar, from under her breast to just under her right arm pit. She heard Rick gasp.

"That fucker did that?" He was standing up straight now.

Vivi laughed lightly at how angry Rick got. He hated Johnny from the moment he met him, and not just because he had been trying to sleep with Vivi. Once they became friends Rick always told Vivi that he got a bad feel from Johnny. She pulled her shirt down again and leaned her back against the rail.

"Needless to say I beat the crap out of that jerk, injured and all. The little whore tried to get out but not before I yelled at her till her ears bled" she winked. "I called the cops and the arrest Johnny. Apparently he got diagnosed with some mental thing and was put in rehab. I haven't seen either of them since. That was almost a year ago."

Rick looked like her had more to say but Vivi cut him off. "It's all in the past now. So enough about me, tell me about your sex life O'Connell. Who was the last poor girl to fall victim to your charm?"

Rick shoved her playfully and laughed

"Well, you'd be surprise how few women you find when your ass is dragged half way across the desert, and the ladies aren't exactly lining up for men in prison."

Vivi let out a low whilst, "I'm surprised Rick. You always found some way to end up with a lady on the past. Maybe you're losing your stuff."

He glared at her, "Don't even joke."

Vivi turned her head to him, her eyes began to sparkle with mischief and she couldn't help but smirk at her friend. She had just thought of a brilliant idea.

"That Evy is quite a darling isn't she?" she asked.

He looked back out to the water, shrugging.

"She's nice I suppose. You and I know that the world chews up people like that."

"Yeah, I guess we do. She's cute too."

He nodded.

"Oh come on Rick! You'd get with her wouldn't you? It's been so long, you could use a woman's lovin'. She's just your type too!" She was facing him now, and let out a loud laugh as she leaned on her side.

He turned to her with wide eyes.

"Will you shut up! And what does it matter? She's got a British flag shoved too far up her ass."

Vivi laughed at Rick as he scowled.

"Come on, that's never stopped you before! Remember that horrible blonde women? The librarian that you'd always harassed when you'd meet me after class? She hated you. Yet you ended up sleeping with her till I was done midterms!"

"Plus" she continued, slapping his arm. "She banned me from the library after you left her to flirt with that gypsy girl. You love a challenge Richard O'Connell."

He looked down and smiled, "not this time Viv."

"A hundred bucks."

"What?' he turned to look at her.

"You heard me. A hundred bucks. I'll give you one hundred dollars if you don't woo Evy by the end of this little expedition." She smiled triumphantly.

"You mean if we survive this 'little expedition", as you put it."

"Yup! Now stop looking all broody. Save it for Evy, she looks like the type that just eats that stuff up." She winked at him. "Speaking of which, I'm going to go get acquainted. Why don't you check on Jonathan? He's sweet and all, but a little too avaricious for my liking."

She pecked him on the check then turned to go find Evy. This would be a fun trip.

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**No Ardeth yet :(**

**Soon!**

**Are we all liking the story so far? Yay or nay?**

**Let me know :)**


	3. So It Begins

**A/N: I only own Vivi-Anne :)**

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Vivi-Anne sauntered around the deck until she found Evy. The curly haired woman was sitting at a table reading a book, completely lost in her own world. Viv pulled back the chair across from her and plopped down. Evy jumped.

"Sorry" Vivi smiled at the women.

"It's fine."

"So, we haven't really had a chance to talk" she continued. "Sorry about my shitty manners at the docks. I haven't seen Rick in a long time."

Evy looked down, "it's fine, really. So uhm… how do you two know each other?"

"I met Rick when I was in school here. I was trying to study one day and he was trying to flirt with one of the librarians. When she shut him down for the millionth time he turned his attention to me."

Evy was looking at her now and Vivi saw a hint of jealousy pass through the woman's eyes. She smiled and continued.

"What started as Rick trying to get me to sleep with him, ended up in a really deep conversation. We talked about everything, from funny stories to sad moments. He never tried to flirt with me again after that, yet met me in the library every day. Eventually we got close, sibling close. See, my older brother moved to England with my Dad when I was little, so Rick seemed to fill his shoes. Once I finished school Rick left for Paris and I hadn't seen him since, until today."

Vivi couldn't help but smile at all the memories of her friend. She was always bailing his and Izzy's ass out of trouble. She turned her attention back to Evy. Evy had tried to keep a pleasant smile on her face but Vivi could tell that jealousy was eating away at her inside. Unable to keep it in any longer, Vivi let out a loud laugh.

"Oh Lord, Evy. You look like your puppy just got run over!" she leaned over and placed a hand on Evy's arm. "Evy, Rick and I have never and _will_ never be a thing. He's all yours."

She leaned back her in chair, laughing some more when Evy's face turned beet red.

"Don't worry, you have my approval" she said, winking at her. This only made Evy blush harder. "So, tell me all about you. I'm surprised I've never heard of you or seen you around. I'm in and out of all the museums in Cairo constantly."

Evy seemed to lighten up at the mention of museums, and began to tell Vivi all about her work. The women were so wrapped up in their conversation that they didn't notice Rick approach them. They both jumped when he flung his bag on the table.

"Sorry" he said, throwing them a cheeky grin.

"You are far from sorry, O'Connell" Vivi said as she rolled her eyes. Evy just smiled.

"Didn't mean to scare ya'" he continued as she looked at Evy.

"The only thing that scares me are you manners" she replied sharply.

Vivi laughed.

"I like her!"

"Still angry about that kiss, hmm?" Rick was trying to get a rise out of Evy, Vivi doubted it would work.

"If you call _that_ a kiss." _Brilliant! _Vivi laughed in her head. She cleared her throat, trying to ease the tension that was growing as Rick glared at Evy.

"Whatcha' got there?" she asked.

Rick flipped the sack open to reveal an assortment of bullets and guns. Vivi stared in awe, trying to decide which one she would beg Rick for. He always had had the coolest guns.

Evy's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"Did I miss something?" she began. "Are we going into battle?"

"Lady, there's something out there. Something in that sand."

The seriousness in Rick's tone made Vivi slightly nervous. Rick was rarely serious, finding humor in even the most dire of situations. He knew something that they didn't about Hamunaptra, and the fact that he wasn't telling her made her uneasy.

Evy didn't seem to notice the dark cloud above Rick and continued. "Yes, well I want to find a certain artifact… a book really…"

Vivi started to tune the two out. She began to question if this really was a good idea, going to Hamunaptra. If the city itself was real, why wouldn't all the myths about curses be too? She stood and began to walk to her room, unnoticed by the other two. She needed to think, to mentally prepare herself for what may come.

She had been so caught up in the thought of finding a lost city, a city that wasn't supposed to exist, that she forgot everything she knew about the city. Hamunaptra was no Atlantis. There wouldn't be a civilized culture with fancy technology, welcoming them into their homes. No, this city was full of death and evil.

Vivi continued to wander around, lost in thought, until she slipped. Catching herself on the wall she looked down to see what had caused her to almost break her neck. There was a small puddle on the floor, with smaller puddles leading away from it. _Those look like… footprint!_

Vivi ran to her room, being mindful not to slip in the water again. When she got there she found it ransacked. Her stuff was flung every, someone had clearly been looking for something. She grabbed her brown jacket and slipped it on, along with a cream scarf. She then grabbed her gun holsters and buckled one around her thigh and the other around her waist. Vivi heard a scream coming from down the hall and went to check it out., however she ran into something hard. Looking up she was met with a pair of dark brown eyes, peeking out from behind two pieces of black fabric.

He gripped her arms, "Where is the map and key?"

His voice was muffled against the fabric, but she could tell that it was deep and strong. It had a sense of power to it, yet sounded slightly sensual. She imagined that, without the material muffling it, it would sound like the perfect male voice. It matched the eyes perfectly. They were two dark pools, full of mystery. She could see the determination in them. Whoever this man was, his wife was a lucky lady. Vivi was so caught up in her hormonal musing that she didn't even acknowledge his question. When she didn't reply he tossed her back, pulling out a knife and approaching her slowly. He asked her again, louder this time.

Vivi landed on her bed, bouncing slightly. She was brought out of her thoughts and looked at the man with narrowed eyes.

"Like hell I'm telling you!" she shouted.

She drew her legs to her chest and shot them out when the man lunged at her. She hit him square in the chest, but it didn't seem to stop him. He pinned her to the bed she'd landed on, putting the knife against her throat.

She opened her mouth to speak but some shouting in Arabic cut her off.

"We have the map!" the voice shouted.

The man turned his attention back to Vivi.

"Looks like you don't need me sweetheart."

He seemed momentarily surprised that she had understood what his comrade had said, and she took that as her chance. With that she kneed him in the stomach and used her other knee to kick him off her. She didn't look back as she bolted out of the room.

She now noticed that the hall was filling up with fire, and made her way to the deck. As she got there she saw a man similar to the one in her room, except covered in fire, lunge at Jonathan. Taking the gun from her thigh Vivi fired three shots, and the man crumbled to the floor.

She could barely make out what Jonathan was saying to the others, when she saw him hold up the metal box. _The key!_ She thought to herself. _Of course that greedy bastard would grab it._ She smiled, but quickly stopped when she realized that the fire was about to erupt right by Jonathan's head. Running the rest of the way, Vivi grabbed Jonathan and dragged him with her as she jumped from the boat.

The cool water was a relief against how hot her skin was beginning to feel from the fire. When she surfaced, Vivi noticed Rick and Evy not far from shore.

"Come on" she said to Jonathan, motioning to where his sister was.

The swim to shore wasn't too bad. Once Vivi had wrung the water from her hair she noticed Evy was in nothing but a white nightgown, which was now slightly see-through.

"Hey" she called, shrugging off her jacket. "Here, these men don't need a show."

Evy noticed what Vivi meant and turned a bright red, taking the jacket quickly.

"Ruin all my fun" Rick grumbled under his breath as Evy did the jacket all the way up. Vivi held in her laughter and she smack him upside the head.

"Hey O'Connell!" a rat-like man called from the other side of the bank. "It looks to me like I've got all the horses!"

Rick smiled as he approached the water's edge.

"Hey Beni, looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!"

The little man seemed to realize this, and cursed as he kicked the water at his feet.

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**Another chapter :) **

**So I don't know if Ardeth was one of the Medjai that attacked the boat, but he is in this story ;P**

**R&R3 **


	4. Watched

**A/N: I only own Vivi-Anne :)**

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After walking all night, the group finally arrived at a city. Evy went off to get another pair of clothes and Vivi went with the men to find camels. By the time they found someone to sell them some, the Warden had snuck off somewhere. Not that it mattered, Vivi didn't like the man and truthfully wished he wouldn't return to the group. Jonathan started to barter with the man and Vivi knew this was her chance to get a private word with Rick. Once she was sure Jonathan was busy, Vivi pulled Rick aside.

"What aren't you telling me?" she said in a low hiss. She held onto Ricks forearm as she pulled him out of earshot.

Rick blinked at her, an innocent look on his face.

"Viv, what are yo-"

"Shut it!" she said, smacking his arm. "You are hiding something, Rick O'Connell. Something about Hamunaptra."

His eyes darkened slightly.

"I don't know what you're talking about Viv."

Vivi growled in frustration. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned into her right one.

"Oh really? Then care to explain why the fucking MEDJAI attacked our boat?"

"Vivi-Anne, what makes you think I know anything about how the bloody medjai work?" he spat back.

Vivi grabbed Rick's right wrist and dug her nails in, right over his tattoo. She fixed him with a hard gaze.

"This is why" she hissed, even lower and with more venom than before. While Rick may have rejected his heritage, Vivi knew that he still had a working knowledge of the society. "Rick, you and I both know that the Medjai don't go around attacking innocent people. They do whatever they have to do protect Hamunaptra. If they are going as far as to leave the city and attack people on a random boat, then something serious is going on there. What happened the last time you were there?"

"I already told you!" Rick replied, trying to get out of Vivi's iron grip.

"Tell me what you left out."

He signed and ran his free hand over his face. He pulled Vivi closer and spoke in a hushed voice.

"Look, after everyone was either dead or had abandoned the group I ran. I got corner at the foot of a statue by like 5 men on horses. Before they could kill me, the ground started to shake and the sand started to… I dunno… bubble. They seemed to know what was happening, and their horses were freaked out as hell, so they ran. That's how I got away."

"Bubbling sand? The bloody _sand_ starts to move and you don't think that that's _bad_?"

"You know I don't believe all that superstition crap Viv."

"That's why you're bringing all the guns? Whatever is out there Rick, whatever 'superstition crap', I highly doubt it can be killed by bullets."

Vivi-Anne was worried. While Rick didn't believe in all that stuff, she did. The fact that Hamunaptra even existed was proof enough for her.

"We'll just have to see wont we?" Rick told her with a bright smile. Vivi was ready to argue but they were cut off by someone shouting.

"I only want four!"

The two turned to see Jonathan getting into a heated argument with the camel salesmen.

"Better go save him" Rick grumbled and walked off.

Vivi hesitated for a bit, still unable to shake the bad feeling she had in the pit of her stomach. Everything she knew about the Medjai told her that if they were attacking them, then they must assume that they were a serious threat. She thought back to the eyes of the man in her room. Despite them being the most gorgeous and deep brown eyes she'd ever seen, she saw nothing but pure determination in them. No crazy, no greedy, no malice, just unwavering determination. That attack wasn't random or without reason. The Medjai were terrified about the map and key falling into the wrong hands. They truly believed that the key could unlock something evil. That scared Vivi.

She noticed Rick walking away with the camels and hurried over.

"We probably could have got them for free" she heard him say. "All we had to do was give him your sister."

She rolled her eyes and laughed as she joined the two men. By this time the Warden had rejoined them after being scolded for peaking on some women.

"Yes, awfully tempting wasn't it?" replied Jonathan. Vivi saw a dark blur out of the corner of her eye and turned to see Evy walking towards them. She was in typical Arabic female clothes that were black with gold trimming. She looked positively stunning. Vivi heard Rick mumble something and noticed that he was entranced by Evy. She giggled and nudged him.

"I might have to fight you for her" she whispered to him with a wink.

He cocked an eyebrow at her. Vivi just laughed again as she smacked him arm and continued walking.

The journey across the desert was long and tiring. Between all the sand and the Warden's off tune singing, their trek through the desert seemed more exhausting than normal. Vivi had wrapped her white scarf around her mouth to block out the sand, but sadly she couldn't avoid the singing. The only saving grace was that she spent the duration talking with Evy. It had been a long time since she had had a good female companion. Vivi had friends back in Cairo, but worked kept her very busy. While she loved her colleagues they didn't really engage in conversation that didn't revolve around work. So it was nice to talk to another women about everything from hieroglyphics and mummies, to what celebrity they though was the cutest.

By the time nightfall had come, everyone was starting to drift off into sleep.

"Are we there yet?" Vivi asked as she stretched her back. "Uuuugh I miss my bed already."

"Stop your whining" Rick said, laughing.

"So" Vivi began. She pulled her camel to walk beside Rick's. "I saw you ogling Evy back in town. You have to be more subtly Mr. O'Connell. She's a person, not a piece of meat."

"Are _you_ giving me advice on women?" he asked. "Since when do you care?"

"I've always cared! You just always went after tramps and bimbos. Evy is nice, I like her. She's _nothing_ like the girls you normally go after. Which would be good for you."

Rick just gave her a warm smile and shoved her playfully. She knew that he knew Evy was different. That gave her some hope.

"So does this mean I can start looking for your next boy toy?" he asked with a coy smile.

Vivi groaned. "I'm so tired of men, Rick. No, scratch that. I'm tired of BOYS. I want someone mature… Maybe I'll become a gold-digger…"

Rick smacked Vivi upside the head.

"Don't be gross" he frowned.

She couldn't help but laugh. Just then Evy sleepily leaned on Rick's shoulder. He stared at her shocked. This made Vivi laugh louder. Rick kicked her foot and glared, trying to get her to shut up. He gently lifted Evy's head off him and balanced her on her camel.

"Awe, why didn't you let her stay" Vivi whined.

Rick opened his mouth to reply, but something caught his eye. At the top of a cliff, he noticed a group of men. He nodded his head to them to get Vivi to look. When she did, her smile fell. They both knew who they were. The fact that they were watching them was another bad sign. Vivi felt the bad feeling in her grow. Something very bad was coming. Even though she couldn't make it out, she knew that the man from her room was there. She could feel his eyes on them.

The thought made her stomach flip. Running into him against wouldn't be the worst thing…

* * *

**I know it's still a little boring, but Ardeth is coming up soon! :)**

**Thank you to , Dr Moustachio Girl and everyone that added this to their favorites!**

**You guys rock3**

**R&R :D**


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